Big Brother Watch has signed a joint letter with ten other campaign groups and charities calling on the government to scrap bank spying powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which would enable the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to spy on swathes of the public’s bank accounts under the premise of tackling welfare fraud.
The letter highlights the brutal impact of these powers on human lives.
Jasleen Chaggar, Legal and Policy Officer at privacy rights group Big Brother Watch, said:
“Scanning the entire population’s bank accounts to help the DWP administer itself is a sledgehammer to crack a nut – and the blows won’t fall evenly.
“Disabled people, carers, older people, single parents and those on low incomes are far more likely to be wrongfully flagged, dragged into intrusive investigation and forced through stressful, time-consuming appeals.
“It’s not too late for the government to abandon this heavy-handed approach and admit the truth: these powers won’t stop serious fraudsters, but risk recreating a horizon-scale scandal for some of the most marginalised members of our society.”
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